masticatory

American  

[mas-ti-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈmæs tɪ kəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in or for mastication.

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noun

• masticatories
  plural

1. Pharmacology. a medicinal substance to be chewed, as to promote the secretion of saliva.

masticatory British  

/ ˈmæstɪkətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or adapted to chewing

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noun

1. obsolete a medicinal substance chewed to increase the secretion of saliva

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unmasticatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• masticatories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of masticatory

From the New Latin word masticātōrius, dating back to 1605–15. See masticate, -tory ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

masticatory masticatories

And rotifers also have a specialized masticatory apparatus -- "teeth" -- that the team hypothesized could grind microplastics into smaller particles.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2023

The cathode was positioned at the hiatus infraorbitalis, and the anode was inserted into the masticatory muscles.

From Nature ● Apr. 4, 2014

The seeds or nuts form a chief ingredient in the celebrated eastern masticatory called Pan and which seems to owe its stimulating properties to the leaves of the Piper Betel.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

The mandibles, like the antennae, have, in the nauplius, the form of biramous swimming limbs, with a masticatory process originating from the proximal part of the protopodite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various

The extract is used extensively by the natives of India, Eastern Archipelago, Cochin-China, and Cambodia, as a masticatory, wrapped up with the betel.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

They proceed at once to stain what is left with frequent applications of the above-mentioned masticatories.

From The Manóbos of Mindanáo Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIII, First Memoir by John M. Garvan